Creator Spotlight

Jeff Mariotte is the author of over 30 novels, among them tie-in books of some of our favorite television shows like Star Trek, Angel, CSI, and Supernatural, to name a few.
As well as novels, Jeff has written a number of comic books, and has been a Senior editor at DC Comics/WildStorm, Editor-in-Chief of IDW Publishing, as well as being co-owner of the independent bookstore Mysterious Galaxy.
We are incredibly pleased that he agreed to take some time to share his thoughts and experience with us here on Literate Machine.

Your latest book, Zombie Cop, is a refreshing take on the zombie genre. How did you come up with the idea for the story?

Thanks. It came about in a fairly unusual way. I was at Comic-Con International in San Diego, talking to an editor about what his needs were. He said that zombie comics were selling well. A story idea popped into my head, almost full-blown, and I pitched it to him. He ended up not going for it, because he had another zombie book in the works already. But the concept wouldn’t let go of me and I wound up developing it more fully, then finding an artist and pitching it to Jim Valentino, the publisher of the Shadowline imprint at Image Comics. Jim went for it, so the book came out from them.

The basic concept is a reversal of the usual zombie story, which is about the human survivors of a zombie plague. This one is about an honest cop who is infected while on a case, and his efforts—as his mental and physical faculties are slipping away—to learn the origin of the zombie plague. In addition to the full-length graphic novel, there’s also an original prose novella set in the same zombie-overrun city.

What has been the response to it thus far?

People seem to like it. I’ve only seen one review of it online, but it was favorable. I’ve heard from readers who have enjoyed it a great deal, and so far haven’t heard from anyone who thought it was a waste of money…so that’s a good thing!

Just curious, have you heard about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?

I’ve only heard a passing reference to it…sounds a bit strange, but maybe entertaining. I haven’t had a chance to look into it in any more depth though.

Why do you think we continue to be fascinated by zombies?

In some ways, zombies are the ultimate monster. They used to be us. Now they’re not—not completely anyway—but they hunger for us and they chase and stalk us, and they’re close to unstoppable. And the math of zombies works better than the math of vampires—if vampires really turned as many people as are turned in almost any given vampire story, their numbers would swell and they would become far more numerous than people in no time. In zombie stories, that’s usually the way it goes, so humans wind up being outnumbered and zombie numbers overwhelming.

It’s easy to romanticize vampires, too—all that stuff about bodily fluids and penetration and biting sexualizes the whole thing. That rarely happens with zombies though. This makes zombies extremely effective in real horror stories—they’re scary, they’re numerous, they’re hard to kill, and there’s nothing sexy about them. So if you’re really looking to be scared, you’ve got to take a look at zombies.

Of all the projects you’ve worked on, which is your favorite and why?

I can’t pick a single favorite. That’s like picking a favorite child or a favorite variety of chocolate—they all have their own special attributes. In novels I’m particularly proud of River Runs Red, for example, which is a supernatural thriller about gods and monsters in West Texas, and an eons-long war that some humans accidentally get caught up in. In comics, I love my long-running Western/horror series Desperadoes (which was picked by True West Magazine as the best Western comic book of the year, last time there was a new miniseries out). IDW Publishing will release the Desperadoes Omnibus in March, collecting every Desperadoes story ever published, in almost 500 pages of Western action. But I’m also proud of how Zombie Cop came out, and very pleased with the reception that Presidential Material: Barack Obama has had, including three Glyph Awards nominations (and four printings so far).

Tell us a little about your process as a writer – for example, how do you get inspired?

The easy answer is that I get inspired every time I look at the refrigerator, because writing is what keeps it stocked and food on the table, not to mention clothes on my family’s bodies and propane in the furnace and…well, you get the idea. I’m a professional writer, and that means I write to make my living. I can’t afford to wait for inspiration, but have to make inspiration happen.

The more complex answer is that inspiration comes from life, from everything I do, see, read, experience, hear about, and so on. The germ of a story idea can come from anywhere. Most often, one idea isn’t enough; stories come from the juxtaposition of two or more ideas (often ones that seem contradictory), so the working writer has to have the kind of imagination that is open to all sorts of external stimuli and is willing to try smashing them together in new and different ways.

What do you do when you have writer’s block?

That’s rarely a problem for me. In the very occasional event that it should happen, I just turn to a different project and work on that for a while. For worse cases, there’s a technique I learned from the author David Morrell: interview your main character, in writing (much like this interview, only you’re supplying the questions and, in your character’s voice, the answers).

Think of your writing ability as a muscle like any other. If it’s exercised regularly, it’ll be there when you need it. The only way to write is by writing, so if you do it all the time, if you keep that muscle worked out, then being blocked just doesn’t happen that much. That’s why the character interview has to be in writing—especially if you’re blocked, you have to keep writing, even if it’s on something entirely different, because that’s the only way to work through the obstruction.

As a former comic book editor, what advice do you have for those who want to put out a successful story?

At the risk of oversimplifying, a story is about conflict. It needs a character the reader will identify with, and that character has to have an identifiable goal, and there has to be something else—another character, nature, himself—that is working to prevent him or her from achieving that goal.

If those elements are in place, then the rest of it is gravy—characterization and dialogue, plot and mood and setting and theme; they’re all important, but hung on a “story” without conflict they are extraneous, and they can’t rescue a story without the basics.

As the owner of an independent bookstore, how do you feel about the emergence of digital books and comics?

As a bookseller and a writer, I recognize that the industry is changing, in ways that I don’t necessarily think are for the best. The digital revolution makes “publishing” so easy that the traditional barriers to entry—that a project has to be good enough to be acquired by a professional editor—can vanish. As a bookseller, that’s a complicating factor because we used to rely on the publishers for a minimum standard of quality, and sometimes a much greater than minimum standard. In an era in which anyone can “publish” their own work, it’s hard for anyone, bookseller or reader, to know if any given work is any good. Comics are a different story—it’s easy enough to tell at a glance, and usually before any money changes hands, if a work’s art style is appealing (but that still doesn’t give you any sense of the writer’s ability).

I’m sure we’ll see more publishing going digital, because it’s greener than tree-killing traditional publishing, doesn’t require big physical storage capacity, and offers immediate gratification—you can get a book or comic when you want it, any time of the day or night, and don’t have to be at a bookstore.

On the other hand, I’m a person who loves the tactile nature of print publishing. I like to hold a book or comic in my hands, and I like to put it on my shelves when I’m done (ideally signed by the author). None of those things work with digital publishing. I believe that even if digital takes hold in a big way, there will always be collectors who demand physical books as well.

What are your thoughts on the future of the comic book industry?

Most of what I said above applies to comics and books. Delivery methods will change for comics, too—we’ll see more comics on our phones and other handheld devices, a turn of events that will be bad for comic shops. There will be a loosening of standards for comics—maybe a tightening in some areas, as the print publishers try to compete with digital by offering ever better work that isn’t available digitally, in hopes of drawing in those people who still want comics they can hold and keep (and those who want to see the art in larger format than on a little handheld screen). I’m not sure where the retailers fit in, but if I were a comic book retailer right now I would be wanting to look at digital delivery and trying to become a digital ”publisher” so I could offer products that nobody else could.

What’s in the cards for you next?

I always stay pretty busy. Over the next few months, we’ll see:

February: Graveslinger, a trade paperback collection of a comic book miniseries I wrote with Shannon Eric Denton, with art by John Cboins and Nima Sorat and pin-ups by an astounding variety of comics greats.

March: Desperadoes Omnibus, as mentioned above.

May: Cold Black Hearts, a novel, the follow-up to Missing White Girl and River Runs Red.

August: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Brass in Pocket, a novel based on the most-watched dramatic series on television.

September: 30 Days of Night: Light of Day, a novel based on the bestselling comic book series.

And there are other stuff, short stories and comics projects I’m not supposed to talk about yet, and/or don’t have schedules for yet.

Finally, what do you want your readers to know about you?

Umm…that I always try to deliver my best work on every project, and to guarantee a good time for the reader. Not every reader will like every book, but some will, and just about everybody who reads books written in English will find something to enjoy amidst my 30+ novels and dozens, if not hundreds, of comics. And I like chocolate chip cookies. Anyone who has any to deliver should contact me for the address…

Thanks!!